Tuesday-Surrounded by Angels

It was again a sunny hot day as we prepared to leave Utah and enter Colorado. It was another long day but smaller inclines as we pedalled our way to Dinosaur, Colorado. It was a very HOT and desolate route but we settled in as we scouted fro dinosaur statues. specifically a pink one in Vernal, Utah. At the first SAG, I met up with Alex. He was saying that he was feeling good and riding at about 23.4. I looked at my speedometer and I was running an average 23.5km/hr! I told Alex and high 5'ed him only to be told he was talking miles. Oh Well!
About 1/3 of the way along, I was walking up a steep hill when the gear and kitchen trucks honked hello as they passed. Just then, the RV that our nurse Alida drives passes me but then with the left signal light on suddenly veers across the traffic, cutting off a large truck and slides deep into the ditch at a steep angle. I knew that Teresa was riding with Alida that day and KNEW some serious had happened. I ran up the hill calling out their names(Teresa said she had never seen me move so fast. I'm wondering if this qualified me for the running club.) Both ladies were safe but had suddenly lost power and brakes in the RV and that was their only option to stop it. The trucks were soon back to get them on the road.

The next stretch of route was straight dessert with no shade and an unforgiving sun. I reach Julie's SAG and was concerned that I was going to get into migraine condition so to be preventative, I SAGed with Julie to the next SAG. It gave Julie and I a chance to find this cowboy dinosaur in Vernal.

At the next SAG, clouds had started moving in so I was back on my bike for the last 25miles all uphill but at least out of the sun. We reached the Colorado border and the last 3miles into town and to the park seemed to last forever.


The park we camped at was covered in gopher holes like a bad scene from the movie Caddyshack. After dark, when I was updating my blog, I could hear several dogs barking to the howls of the coyotes. As I walked back to my tent through the sleeping camp I heard movement by the darken gear truck. Gopher or Skunk? I shined my flashlight over to catch a glimpse of 3-4 coyotes sniffing around. I was very glad that there was a chain fence between us the truck and the tents.